Buckslayer Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Last week my truck wouldn't even turn over one morning, and being that the battery was 5 years old, I thought maybe that was it. Well I decided to keep the booster pac in my truck in case it happened again (I didn't think I left anything on, but wasn't sure)... Well, yesterday morning it happened again, so after checking my alternator, which was charging good, I went out and bought a battery and put it in. This morning I went out AND IT WAS DEAD! So I knew it was something draining my battery. I was sure I turned everything off. I plugged my battery charger in, and started to charge my truck battery outside the garage. I called Advanced Auto parts, and told them the story, knowing they still had my core. They couldn't refund my money and give me my core back because I had already installed the battery (only for 24 hours mind you...) So I'm sitting in my truck and I hear a whining sound. I get closer and notice my air is running without the key in the ignition. Then I tried the vent switch. It works! No key, but the switch works between vent pathways... So in the meantime I got into the fuse box and unplugged the relay to the blower, so that nothing is drawing power. My truck started up, and now is charging itself. Question is, I need heat, and don't know what happened? The heat and vents work, but they just don't shut of when in the "OFF" position. They continue to drain power the whole time the key isn't in. Does anyone have any ideas where to start? Thanks, Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? what year and make is your truck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? got to be a shorted wire or harness, if it were a relay, the blower prob. would not work at all, if it is wired throught he ig. switch it may be that..?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LETMGROW Posted January 28, 2007 Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Sounds like the relay is stuck in the closed position. Try swapping a relay from another position if they are numbered the same part number. If the blower doesn't run with the other relay plugged in get a new relay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted January 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Its a 2003 Ford Ranger 4x4, 4.0 Liter, thanks for the responses so far -- I'll try switching out the relays and see what that does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Start with the relay, if the two contacts are shorted together inside of it, it would cause it to run all the time. If that's not it, the contacts in the blower resistor may be shorting together. Does the blower motor operate normal on all speeds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? was kinda thinkin the same thing as shaun. i would tend to rule out ign. switch if no other accessories are staying on. relay or resistor was the first thing that popped in my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted January 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Hey guys... its not the relay. I switched it out with another one of the same kind and it did it again. I got to thinking, Does that switch operate the vents on vacuum suction? Cause if it did this is a dead end and I have a short elsewhere in the vehicle. I think there is a vacuum canister that would continue to operate the vent louvres after the truck has been shut off. When I moved the switch for a while, and all the vacuum got used up, the switch no longer operated the louvres. Thats why I'm thinking along that line. For now I guess to be safe I'm just going to have to disconnect my battery anytime the truck is sitting for more than an hour or so... I have no clue how to find a short in one of hundreds of circuits in the vehicle so I'm probably going to give it to my cousin who is manager of a Ford Quicklane garage and have them figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? If they're like the chevy's the vent airflow control is controlled by a vacuum actuator. But that's the airflow control, not the blower switch that turns it on. Maybe try a new switch and see if that works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted January 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Shaun, it was the airflow control knob that was working after the key was removed from the ignition, not the blower switch. Sorry if I made it seem like it was the blower switch itself. Another bit of info is that after about 25mins of driving, I lose control of the airflow. When I use the airflow control knob it doesn't switch between vent paths, and no air seems to come out. The blower will still adjust between levels 1,2,3, and 4 and will sound louder as it blows more air... even though nothing is coming out the vents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? You have a short somewhere. Should not be in the switch as the switch should not have power without the key in the ignition and the ignition to on or acc. Think your short is elsewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted January 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? I agree William. I've created my next plan of attack. It involves waiting 45 minutes for all vehicle modules to power down, then taking my voltmeter and inserting the probes inline with the negative battery cable (not across terminals). Then, I will remove each fuse one by one to see if I can find which electrical system has the short. The slowing/stopping of current flow on my meter would indicate this when I remove the fuse to the shorted circuit right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? That sounds like a pretty solid plan for tracing down where the problem might be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? [ QUOTE ] I agree William. I've created my next plan of attack. It involves waiting 45 minutes for all vehicle modules to power down, then taking my voltmeter and inserting the probes inline with the negative battery cable (not across terminals). Then, I will remove each fuse one by one to see if I can find which electrical system has the short. The slowing/stopping of current flow on my meter would indicate this when I remove the fuse to the shorted circuit right? [/ QUOTE ] Yep, you are correct. That'd be the parasidic draw test, put the meter in amps and connect it in series between the negative cable and negative post on the battery. Let it sit for a while until everything goes to sleep. You should have between 10 and 25mA draw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiobuckhunter Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Hey man I know what your problem is it's your voltage regulater i'm sure of it I had the same problem let me know what you find out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted January 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Thanks ohiobuckhunter. I'll check my alternator too. It was dark and cold (5 degrees w/o windchill) when I got home last night so I'm going to look at it later today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohiobuckhunter Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? sounds good let me know how it works out for ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? If anything else (ie. radio) comes on that's not supposed to when the key is out then the ignition switch itself is the most likely culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted January 30, 2007 Report Share Posted January 30, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? Something popped to my mind when I read Leo's post. Does your dome lamp work when you open the door? I know we have problems with the door jam switches with our Sunfires and Cavaliers, the radio won't turn off until the door is opened, but if the door jam switch sticks it'll stay on constantly and the dome lamp will not work. Causing the battery to drain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? [ QUOTE ] Something popped to my mind when I read Leo's post. Does your dome lamp work when you open the door? I know we have problems with the door jam switches with our Sunfires and Cavaliers, the radio won't turn off until the door is opened, but if the door jam switch sticks it'll stay on constantly and the dome lamp will not work. Causing the battery to drain. [/ QUOTE ] Its not that Leo, Shaun... I checked. I did the parasitic drain test tonight and couldn't find anything. I have an appointment on monday with my Ford dealer. Since my cousin is the service manager he will take it in and find the cause for free. Fixing it will still cost money but that I can do on my own once they find it. I'll report back monday or tuesday when I know what it is. Thanks for all the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? dont know what to tell you. gotta work on mine too. the service engine light came on the otehr day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckslayer Posted February 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Re: Truck troubles... Help? Ideas? [ QUOTE ] dont know what to tell you. gotta work on mine too. the service engine light came on the otehr day. [/ QUOTE ] That stinks, at least you can pull up a code on that one though... good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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